(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia is set to register a deficit in budget of 12 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, spurred by lower revenues from oil and increasing expenditure, Gulf News reported.
Last year, Saudi recorded a budget deficit of -2.3 percent of GDP, which marked an unprecedented occurrence for the past ten years. As for other GCC countries, Oman and Bahrain are forecast to record the most declining budgets due to lower oil prices.
"Oman and Bahrain are expected to run the largest fiscal deficits in the GCC this year, and while we are confident that the budgets can be financed, these countries are facing the most pressure to rationalize spending," an official said.
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